Last weekend we had friends over for dinner and I made these baked beans. They were so good and easy. I combined ideas from several recipes books, including a church cookbook and the More with Less Cookbook. The result is a recipe that uses canned beans and cooks in the slow cooker. I wanted to use the slow cooker because baked beans taste best with a long cooking time, but I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 4 cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 bottle chili sauce
- 1 small onion or ½ large onion, diced (about ½-3/4 cup)
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped or crumbled
- Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- The beans may be soupy when you first take the lid off, but will thicken up after a few minutes.
I did try this recipe again this past weekend when we had another family over for dinner. The store I shopped in didn’t have navy beans so I bought pinto beans. The recipe didn’t turn out nearly as good. The beans were much firmer and bigger and they never thickened up. The taste wasn’t as good either. I’ll stick with navy beans from now on.
This is the kind of recipe I like. And we like beans, I make lots of different dishes with beans.
This looks great for weekday dinner or a weekend bbq. I’m sure it was delicious.
Do the leftovers freeze well?
Jess, I’ve never tried to freeze baked beans before. If you try it, let me know if it works. I do know that people freeze cooked beans to have them ready for recipes, but I’m not sure about baked beans.
I have frozen beans before and they were as if i had just made them but you have to let them thaw in the fridge slowly like the night before if you want them the next day
Hi Tiffany! I’m going to make this for 4th of July, but I have a question…I see brown sugar in the picture, but it’s not listed in the recipe. Do I need it? If so, how much? Thanks!
Nevermind! LOL I swear I had read that recipe 3 times and didn’t see it! I see it now…hahaha *blush*
Okay, just thought I’d update you…I made this for 4th of July. It was a hit! I added about 1/2 a cup of BBQ sauce and it was SUPER! Also, I used pre-cooked bacon, which made it even easier to throw together! Thanks!
Okay, one more thing…hahaha Honest!! I forgot to mention that I could NOT find Navy Beans in the stores here. I checked Fresh & Easy, Target & Albertsons with no luck. So, I started looking at my other options and saw White Beans in a can. I looked at the ingredients…they are Navy Beans!! LOL What is wrong with California? LOL So, if you can’t find Navy Beans, try White Beans…it’s literally the same thing. Also, Pork & Beans are made with Navy Beans, as well, if you are really into shortcuts. ;o)
Nicky, this is good to know. Thanks for sharing!
I know this was posted a few weeks ago but I made this recipe yesterday for a family gathering and it was great! Everyone loved the flavor. I did make my life easier and used “real” bacon bits vs cooking my own bacon (to avoid heat in the kitchen or mess in my microwave) and it tasted great.
I made these recently and was the only one that liked them. 🙁
I really liked how easy it was to put together which was why I picked the receipe.
I just made these baked beans…I thought the flavor was “bold” also….maybe it was the chili sauce. Not too pleased with the flavor
Sorry you didn’t care for it. What brand of chili sauce did you use?
How big is the bottle of Chilli sauce in the recipe, I cant see the numbers on the bottle properly lol
12 oz bottle
I made these yesterday for our Memorial Day cookout. They were yummy! They have a very bold taste. I may cut back on the chili sauce next time just to tone them down slightly, but they were delicious.
BTW, I accidentally bought Great Northern Beans. An internet search showed them to be the same as Navy Beans, but just a bit bigger in size. I went with them and they turned out fine.
Hi! This recipe looks perfect and delicious! Wondering… How many will this recipe serve?
It should serve around 10.
how many people does this serve?
About 10-12 servings.
My wife hates to cook so I’m trying to lighten the load and surprise her with great crock pot meals. Wish me luck!
What a great husband you are!
Can i make this baked beans recipe overnight by set the cook in low? Will it have any change in the texture of the dish?
Overnight might be too long for this one.
If you use soaked dried beans instad of canned, overnight on low should be fine. (Rinse bag of dried beans (1#), then soak in plenty of water for 8 hours. (Use water to cover by 2 times). Drain, add other ingredients and cook on low 8-10 hours.)